Prop 8 heads to Supreme Court

After more than a week of anticipation, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Friday to take up the issue of gay marriage - potentially settling a historic civil rights issue.

The nation's highest court will decide whether California's voter- approved Proposition 8, which banned same-sex unions, was a violation of the civil rights of gay and lesbian couples.

Proponents of gay marriage said this could be a pivotal moment in their movement.

"I am very hopeful and the stakes are very, very high," said John Lewis, legal director for Marriage Equality USA, which supports rights for same-sex marriage.

"It's our lives that are really on the line. Our rights. It's not abstract; it's very, very real in a practical way and to our basic dignity as people."

Backers of Proposition 8 also declared victory Friday, saying they were heartened by the court's action.

"We believe that it is significant that the Supreme Court has taken the Prop. 8 case," said John Eastman, chairman of the National Organization for Marriage and a law professor at Chapman University in Orange. "We believe it is a strong signal that the court will reverse the lower courts and uphold Proposition 8. That is the right outcome based on the law and based on the principle that voters hold the ultimate power over basic policy judgments and their decisions are entitled to respect."

The court also agreed to take up a separate but related issue of federal benefits for gay couples who are already married.

Justices will hear arguments in March and decide by late June whether gay Americans have the same constitutional right to marry as heterosexuals.

Several narrower paths also are open to the justices as they consider Proposition 8 and the provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act that denies favorable federal benefits and a range of federal health and pension benefits to legally married gay Americans.

What the decisions will be is anyone's guess.

"The court left its options wide open," Lewis said. "They could go a number of ways, we just don't know."

For all the possibly far-reaching consequences in the long term, some were disappointed in the short-term effects of the review.

Most supporters of gay marriage had hoped the high court would pass on considering an appeal to a lower court ruling that overturned Proposition 8.

Had the Supreme Court taken no action, the state would have been able to issue marriage licenses immediately for same-sex couples - but the decision would have only applied in California.

Instead, under a stay order, gay marriages will not be allowed until the Supreme Court rules. However, the court's decision will have national implications.

Since its passage in 2008, California's ban on same-sex marriage "has been under continuous legal assault, and is now facing its final test at the steps of our nation's highest court," according to a statement from protectmarriage.com, which backed Proposition 8 and asked the high court to review the case.

Andy Pugno, general counsel for protectmarriage.com, said all along both sides have assumed the high court would decide the case.

Arguing the case before the Supreme Court "finally gives us a chance at a fair hearing, something that hasn't been afforded to the people since we began this fight," Pugno said Friday.

Other same-sex marriage opponents said they like their chances in front of the high court.

Jim Campbell, lead counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, another of the Proposition 8 lawyers in the case, said in a statement that "marriage between a man and a woman is a universal good that diverse cultures and faiths have honored throughout the history of Western civilization."

The delay in a final decision was disappointing for some in Long Beach, who had planned Friday to hold a wedding reception, complete with champagne toasts and wedding cake.

The Rev. Sharon Graff of Redlands United Church of God In Christ said, "It would have been lovely to start doing weddings tomorrow and sing again, but I'm trying to keep a longer view of this."

A ruling that upholds California's Proposition 8 would be a setback for gay marriage proponents in the state, said Long Beach gay rights activist Mina Meyer.

"If we lost, it would set us back 10 to 15 years," she said.

However she said the risk of a Supreme Court ruling is worth the potential gain.

"You always have to push forward," Meyer said. "In civil rights you don't sit around and say, `I'll wait for my turn.' We've been fighting for civil rights and this is a civil right."

There is also a chance the Supreme Court will take a conservative approach by deciding proponents of Proposition 8 lack standing because they were not injured by the lower court rulings against them. If that happens, the case would end and the Supreme Court would not need to consider lower court rulings.

The Associated Press and Staff Writers Beau Yarbrough and Lauren Gold contributed to this report.